


Feathers and Flowers

by MamaDeb (PK_preservation_project), PK_preservation_project



Series: Fire and Rain [4]
Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: AU, Chakotay/Tom Paris (past), F/M, M/M, Tuvok/Kes (Past)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-11-27 22:24:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20955887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PK_preservation_project/pseuds/MamaDeb, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PK_preservation_project/pseuds/PK_preservation_project
Summary: Voyager settles temporarily on a friendly planet, for necessary repairs.This is a new entry in the "Fire and Rain Universe."  That means it's rather sweet and nice.I hope it stands on its own, though.  It's ten years or so down the line, and there are families on board, and people we know are dead.  Seven is not in this universe.DISCLAIMER:  Voyager, Janeway, Chakotay, Ayala, Torres, and Kim are property of Paramount.  Palan, Keshia and Jack Dellon are mine.





	Feathers and Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Archivist's note: Find Debra's work in other fandoms under [mamadeb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mamadeb).
> 
> I had been posting her _Voyager_ stories here (with her permission), under her user name, but AO3's recent changes on co-creators means I can no longer add her AO3 user name until she approves the request.

"Mother! Mother!" B'Elanna Torres Kim was sitting outside her house reading a report when she heard her daughter's happy shout. She looked up to see the tiny five year-old riding on the shoulders of a young man, apparently in his twenties. Both were filthy. The young man, who had actually been born six and half years earlier, had a huge bunch of bright wild flowers in his hand. Carefully, he put the little girl on the ground.

"What have you two been up to?" B'Elanna put down her padd, and, heedless of the mud, hugged her daughter.

"Palanka and I were down by the stream. So many pretty flowers!"

"Keshie! Was anyone else there?" There was a strict rule about being near the water without an adult. This was no holodeck and there were no safeties.

"Naomi was there. And Aunt Megan."

"Aunt Megan told us to take flowers back to village."

"They're nice flowers. Are they for your papas?"

"For papas and Uncle Harry and Aunt B'Elanna. Pretty flowers. Many pretty flowers by water. Dirt dark there, and heavy. Sun bright. Many bugs. Flowers like that. Some flowers not like that, live by trees, but not so pretty."

"That's very clever, Palanka. Come, let's show all the papas the flowers, and tell them what you learned." She tapped the communicator pinned to her sweater. "Three to beam up, Mike." 

* * *

"Kathryn, I can't keep the ship running much longer. I'm putting patches on the patches, and soon I'll have to start cannibalizing some systems to support others."

B'Elanna looked at the people she'd called to the emergency meeting. The senior staff of her family sat around the briefing room table. Kathryn Janeway, who was the person she most respected in the universe. Next to her, Chakotay - second on the list and always by Kathryn's side. There was an empty chair next to him. It had been almost ten years since that chair was filled. Then Tuvok, who was wearing civilian clothes and bottlefeeding his new son. He was still on parental leave, but she wanted his input. Neelix, who was seriously worried about food supplies. Samantha Wildman, who had been the ship's pilot for as long as that chair was empty. And sitting next to B'Elanna was her husband Harry, who somehow managed to stay sweet and shy after all these years.

Kathryn looked at the report.

"What do you suggest, B'Elanna?"

"We have two choices. One is to find a spacedock. By working full-out for several months - and I emphasize months - we can get _Voyager_ back on her feet again. For that, we'll need to find a peaceful space-faring race with whom we can trade something."

Chakotay looked at her. "And what's the second choice?"

"If we don't find such a race, we need to find an uninhabited class-M planet and land there. It would be much harder working in gravity and atmosphere and we'd have to work from raw materials, and there's no guarantee that those raw materials would actually exist, but I believe we could do it. It would take a couple of years, though, to finish the job." 

"It is obvious that the first option is preferable, but it does run the risk of violating the Prime Directive." Tuvok shifted the baby to his shoulder.

"On the other hand, we could take advantage of the situation."

"Yes, Neelix?"

"Our food supplies are running dangerously low. The airponics bay has been neglected since Kes died. Would you need the entire crew to help with the repairs, B'Elanna?"

"No. I could probably use everyone's help at one point or another, but never everyone at once."

"So, if we find this class-M world, we might be able to grow food. We could study the local ecosystem and see what we can use, and make sure our own foodcrops don't do any damage."

"It would also permit the children to see what a real planet is like. They so rarely get to spend more than a day or so off the ship." Samantha smiled.

"Well, I see that both options have their merits. B'Elanna, how long do we have to decide?"

"At least a month. Will our food hold out, Neelix?"

"Certainly. We'll be cutting it a little close, but no one will go hungry."

"Then we'll let fate decide." Kathryn stood, ending the meeting.

Chakotay smiled. "Maybe we can count on more than fate." He followed Kathryn out of the room.

Two weeks later, after Chakotay suggested some minor course corrections to get them around some relatively unimportant obstacles, they encountered a starship approximately equal to their own.

"Hail them, Mr. Ayala." Tuvok was still on parental leave, which meant his second, and Chakotay's partner, Adame Ayala, was on the bridge. 

"Aye, Captain. They are responding to our hails."

"On the screen."

The starfield and starship in front of them was replaced by the head of a being not too different from anyone on the ship, other than the brilliant feathers where his hair should be. He had a magnificent crest of iridescent blue feathers, like an Earth jaybird, and a friendly smile.

Kathryn answered with her own smile.

"Greetings. I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation Starship _Voyager_. We are here in peace."

"Greetings, Captain. I am Commander Dirth of the Hasiah Starship _Fleetwing_. Welcome to Hasiah space."

"Thank you."

"Our homeworld is only a few lightyears from here. May I escort you there? Perhaps we might find things to talk about, and I'm sure our Premier would be pleased to meet with you."

Kathryn gestured to Ayala, who hushed the transmission. 

"Well, people?"

"I advise caution, Captain."

"Thank you, Adame. Tuvok would be proud of you."

"If Vulcans admitted to pride, Kathryn." Chakotay smiled at his companion standing at the security station. "Kathryn, I have a good feeling about these people. I say we go with them."

"We can still be cautious, Captain." Harry glanced at her from ops.

"Agreed. But they've been polite and they may be able to give us help. Adame?" He resumed the sound transmission.

"Commander Dirth, we will be happy to accompany you. This may prove beneficial to us both."

The Hasiah were as hospitable as they seemed. They were a wealthy and content race, with abundant natural resources and several star- systems, none overly populated. While they had a formidable defense system, they did not seek out wars, nor did they look to expand their territories at the price of others. Their early history was filled with civil wars and they did not want to repeat that experience with others. Like the Federation, they were no longer on a money economy.

Their technological level was about equal with the Federation's, which meant that they could trade information easily. They were also interested in their adventures in the Delta Quadrant, and they were amazed at the children on board. Since their territory was on the small side, and they weren't really interested in exploring for themselves, they were not used to long range vessels. Quite frankly, they were shocked.

"You see, Kathryn, when we realized the dangers of overpopulation, we took steps to prevent it. No woman can have more than two children unless she has special procedures, which is only done if she loses a child, so children are precious and not to be endangered."

"We love our children, too, Premier Nansman. My son is quite precious to my husband and me. We may be on _Voyager_ a long time. We keep our children as safe as any parents."

"And they do have that marvelous holodeck of yours, so they don't miss fields and skies." The premier smiled.

From there the conversation leapt to shore leave and then to the possibilities of using one of their spacedocks. Neelix barely had to negotiate. The Hasiah were truly taken with Voyager and could easily spare the resources required. In fact, they were more than generous. They offered a compromise between B'Elanna's two scenarios.

There was a space station orbiting a new colony world. The station itself had all _Voyager_ needed for repairs, except for the biopacks. Fortunately, they had the bio-tech necessary. They simply hadn't applied it to starships. Vorik could easily adapt what they had to create the biopacks.

Meanwhile, the colony planet was fertile and beautiful, and the northern hemisphere was just entering spring. If the crew of Voyager wished, they could settle there for as long as they wanted and grow crops and let their children run. The Hasiah would provide them with housing and materials - all in exchange for new applications of their existing technology. The biopacks for starships was payment enough for the spacedock time.

There was a lot of discussion on _Voyager_. Was there an ulterior motive? Could they afford the time? Could they afford *not* to do so? The children clinched it. Many were frightened to live on a planet's surface. It was too open for them. The ship was safe and enclosed and familiar and they didn't want to leave. Plus, there were too many strangers. They wanted to just have their aunts and uncles.

So, they said "yes." _Voyager_ was put in spacedock. B'Elanna made some calculations and said that if they took their time and did it right, they could completely overhaul the ship in about one revolution, about one year. And they could do it without working to death, either. They could use local help *and* they could all sleep on the same shift at night.

And that's where they were now. They had a lovely little village in the temperate zone, with separate houses for each family and group homes for singles, and a choice of either for couples without children. They still all ate meals together in a communal dining hall, and Neelix was still cook, although he did have unlimited replicator energy.

Some spent their days in orbit working on the ship. Others farmed the fertile land. Some spent weeks at a time teaching at various universities. Chakotay found himself in demand as a lecturer, and he and Adame traveled to many of the other worlds and stations. Kathryn and her husband Jack Dellon spent their days in research. She ran the village, of course, and was quite good at it, but she was able to take off her captain persona for awhile.

They all took off their uniforms. The engineers adopted the practical coveralls of the station, and everyone else discovered all the various clothing of the Hasiah cultures, along with their dramatics and their music. It wasn't hard to do - the crew had long since begun to remove their uniforms as soon as duty was over. They had also long begun to be rather lax about rank, except for on the bridge itself. What did rank matter? No one was paid, no one was really promoted and promotions didn't really change the jobs. And the kids just called everyone Aunt and Uncle anyway.

No one noticed who called Kathryn "captain" for the last time, not even she. 

And four or five months after they settled in, two muddy children ran with a huge bouquet of river flowers.

* * *

"The papas" were all working inside the ship. Vorik was installing, with the help of one of the locals (a sweet-faced woman with muted feathers and no crest), new biopacks. Tuvok, his baby in a backpack, was overseeing the new security system. Harry was everywhere at once as befit the Ops officer. They found him first, on his knees under a console. Keshia, who loved pulling on her father's long braid, dragged him out by the hair - or thought she did. Harry heard her unmistakable giggle and helped her. Then he grabbed her and tickled her. She shrieked with delight.

Palan gravely separated a handful of flowers from the bouquet.

"These yours, Uncle Harry. Gold like shirt." 

"Thank you, Palanka. They are very beautiful. Did Keshie help?"

"Keshie picked some."

"Mother, can I stay? I want to play on Uncle Tom's chair." The Kims exchanged glances. She'd been talking about "Uncle Tom" for a couple of weeks now. "Please? I'll be good. I promise."

"Don't whine, Keshia. Of course you can stay, so long as you do as your father says. Be a good girl now."

Keshia ran to the pilot's station. It was offline, of course.

"I'm flying the ship. I'm going to take us home. Just like Uncle Tom said." B'Elanna shook her head. Maybe her daughter would get out of this fixation with Tom soon. They must have been telling too many Tom Paris stories. They both missed him terribly still. They loved Samantha and Ayala, but there was still a hole. A Tom-shaped hole.

She took Palan's hand and looked up at him. He topped her by several inches, but no one could forget that a very little boy looked out of those beautiful bright eyes.

"Let's round up your papas, okay?"

"Okay, Aunt B'Elanna."

"Remember what I said, Keshia. If you want to be a pilot, you have to obey orders."

"Yes, mother. I'll be good."

"She's perfectly safe, mother."

She gave her husband a swat for that and left the bridge.

Palan's fathers were working on a security biopack together, which was fortunate. Vorik had just changed the baby.

"Good afternoon, B'Elanna. Why did you bring Palan here?"

"You tell them, Palanka."

"Keshie and Palanka picked flowers at the stream today. Give to papas."

"Tell them about the flowers." She smiled. Palan repeated his insight into the growth and needs of the plants.

"Did someone tell you this, Palanka?" Tuvok looked directly at his son.

"No. Saw it."

"Do you like plants, Palanka?"

Palan nodded. "Plants nice. Give right food, and right dirt and right water and right light and grow right. Pretty. Make nice food. Mama grew plants in air on ship."

"Do you remember this?" 

"Helped Mama. Mama told about plants. Mama went away. Plants sad. Not grow."

Vorik and Tuvok crossed fingers. B'Elanna wondered if some sort of communication was being passed through their bond.

Finally, Vorik spoke. "Thank you for the flowers, Palanka. We will put them someplace where they will stay pretty for a while. And thank you, B'Elanna, for letting Palan tell us this. We are deeply grateful. We'll speak of this later."

B'Elanna nodded. She had some work to do, but she would take the children back down to the childcare center on the planet first.

Palan spent the next week getting tested. 

"Palanka. Look at the picture. Look at the picture, little one."

"See picture." He was getting tired.

"What is in the picture?"

"Plant. Always pictures of plants."

"Yes. What does this plant need?"

"Plant in sand. Not need water? All plants need water. Plant thick. Maybe plant hold water like cup. Is hot?"

"Yes. It's hot."

"Plant hold water. Need heat, bright bright sun. Prickly. No like be eaten. Maybe animal want water in plant? Too prickly for animal, animal go somewhere else. People eat?"

"Not this one, but ones like it."

"Excellent, Palanka."

"Can go now?"

"Yes, run and play."

"Not play. Help Uncle in fields. Take away bad plants. Important work."

They had machines to weed, but some were missed. It was important work. The instructor nodded and Palan ran to help.

Kathryn and Jack were back in the village, watching their Tommy play with Keshia while they chatted with her parents. It was a bright summer's day, so the adults sat in the shade of Kathryn's porch, sipping cool drinks. Then Palan came dashing in, carrying a grain plant in his hands.

"Uncle Jack! Uncle Jack! Need help!" He ran full tilt into the porch. 

"Calm down, little one. Sit." Palan was not actually out of breath. He was Vulcan enough to tolerate the heat and the run very well.

"Look plant. Plant sick, Uncle Jack? Uncle said Uncle Jack know." Jack was a botanist, but he didn't know much about the plants of this world. The other children came to the porch to see what was happening.

"Let me see, honey." Jack reached for the plant. 

"Look, Uncle Jack. See yellow like dust under leaves? Wasn't yellow, wasn't dust before. No flower, no sneeze dust."

"Sneeze dust?"

"Sneeze dust. Flower make, insect take to other flower. Help to make new flowers. Make Uncle Harry sneeze."

"Pollen. The word is pollen." B'Elanna peered over Jack's shoulder. Sure enough, there was yellow powder under the plant's leaves. Kathryn fetched a tricorder from her house, and gave it to her husband. He ran it over the "sick" plant. His eyes widened.

"Palan, honey, are there other plants like this? With the yellow, er, dust?"

"One field all like this."

"Any others?"

"Uncle look. Not find."

"Who found the dust?"

"Palanka found. Plants look sick."

"Which field?"

"Far from village."

"Thank goodness." He touched his communicator. "Jack to Chakotay."

"Chakotay here. Did you see Palanka's sample?"

"I did indeed. What you have is a fungal infection. They have a cure, but it's not 100% effective and it takes time."

"So what do we do?"

"I suggest that so long as it's just one field, we take a phaser to it. That's fast and 100%. Then we plow it with fungicide and replant it with something a little faster. I'll keep this sample and see if I can come up with something better. The Hasiah are not much more experienced with this ecosystem than we are, so they might have missed something."

Kathryn spoke up. "Chakotay, do you concur with Jack's analysis?"

"I do, Kathryn. It's only a small portion of the crops now."

"Then do it. Have the ship beam you a phaser rifle."

"Will do. Chakotay out."

"Can we go watch?" Tommy appealed to his mother. Keshia was doing the same to her father. "Please, mama?"

"Want watch, too." Palan was practically bouncing.

"What about you, sweetheart?" Harry looked at his wife.

"Watch Chakotay lay waste to an entire field of grain? I wouldn't miss it. Come on, kids." She hit her commbadge. "Chakotay, hold off on the mass destruction until we get there." She and Harry strode off arm in arm while the kids danced around them. 

It was an impressive sight. Chakotay fired the phaser rifle in rows, and the plants all blackened and fell apart quite satisfactorily. The children all wanted to take a turn, but "Uncle" refused steadily. The children were taught to handle weapons, but the rule was not to touch outside of training or in an serious emergency with no adult around. No exceptions. Punishment was dire - house arrest.

Palan's papas were waiting for him when they returned after the burning. 

"Palanka. We have heard what you did today."

"Did?"

"Yes, my son. You saw something was wrong with the crop and you found the right people to tell. Because of you, the rest of the crop was saved."

"Saved?" Palan was glowing.

"Yes. Now we will have bread to eat next winter. You did a very wise thing. Papa Vorik and I are very proud that our son did this. Of course, we are always proud of you."

"Mama be proud?"

"Mama was always proud of you, my son. But if she knew, she would be very happy."

"Everyone proud?"

Kathryn came forward and hugged him. He towered over her. "Yes, Palanka. We're all proud of you. We will not forget this."

"Not forget." He smiled. "Watch burn. Not forget that."

"Well, we will always remember what you did, even after we forget what the burning looked like. Now, it's time for dinner. Go wash up."

He ran off with the other children.

"Chakotay, what exactly happened?"

"Palan was helping me weed that field. It's amazing. Usually, he has no attention span at all, but he can do fieldwork all day long. The first thing he says to me is 'Plants not good, Uncle. Tired.' They were looking a little droopy, which surprised me, given the amount of rain we've been having, but they didn't look sick. Then he goes right to one of the stalks and lifts up the leaves. Sure enough, there was that yellow powder. I mention showing it to Uncle Jack, and he pulls out one plant and runs to the village before I could do anything more.

"I know we really don't need these plants for food, that we're growing them as an excuse to live on a planet's surface for awhile, but I'm very glad that we aren't going to lose our hard work to a blight."

"Indeed, Chakotay. I am gratified that my son now has something to give him importance on the ship."

"How do you mean, Vorik?" B'Elanna was curious.

"I am aware that we will no longer need the airponics bay for food production. However, non-replicated fruits and vegetables will always be welcome, and flowers doubly so. Palan has shown a talent for horticulture, and will not only feel useful working in his mother's old garden, he will actually *be* useful. All beings wish to be of use to others."

"Palan has never been useless. He is a valued member of our family."

"Yes, Kathryn. But he has the body of an adult now. He is physically too large to be in school and there is little more he can be taught. Palan will now have a place in the crew, as he should. He should be given a commbadge when we do return to the ship."

"A uniform, too?" B'Elanna was curious. She was not especially looking forward to putting on her own uniform again.

"That's up to Kathryn."

"I'll think about it, Tuvok. I hear Neelix calling us to dinner. Shall we?" She linked her arm with Jack and together they strode off to the dining hall. B'Elanna smiled and took her own husband's hand. Even after ten years of marriage, it felt good to hold Harry's hand. He grinned at her and tossed his hair back over his shoulder as they walked. Behind them were Tuvok and Vorik, chatting with Chakotay. The hall was abuzz with Palan's news. He was inundated with kisses and hugs and hand shakes - so much so that he grew agitated. Vorik soothed him while Tuvok warned people away, but they still left early.

The year progressed. They harvested the grain and the root vegetables and stored them, and gathered fruit and nuts from natural orchards. The ship repairs also went forward. After consultation, B'Elanna and Harry began to move bulkheads around to produce more livable quarters for the growing families. They also managed to repair and reconstruct new shuttlecraft, and even upgrade their weapons systems. The Hariah weren't happy about this, but they recognized that Voyager would need to defend herself.

They got to know the Hariah quite well - the men with their peacock bright crests and the women with their soft muted caps. The crew and their children were able to take shuttles to the more settled colonies and the homeworld, where they could see plays and hear music and visit museums. They acquired brightly colored outfits and odd jewelry and artifacts to decorate their homes. 

They were in a temperate zone, so when winter came, so came snow. They were all delighted. The houses were warm and they had insulated clothing, so the cold wasn't a problem. There were few chores and the ship was almost complete. It was nearly a vacation. They played and built snow sculptures and had snowball wars. For a brief time, they all became children. Unfortunately, this winter did not coincide with the dates of most of the various winter holidays, so they just made one up. 

When the spring came, so did babies. Some few of the crew decided that this planet bound time was a good chance to increase or start a family. The Doctor, who was an active member of the temporary colony, concurred. 

Then, the day came that the ship was completely repaired and renovated. B'Elanna, Samantha and a skeleton crew took her out on a shakedown cruise around the Hasiah territory and pronounced it fit for duty once again.

They began dismantling the village. The houses would remain, but they would be emptied of all the things that made them homes. They took leave of their new friends. The children who had wept to leave the safe hull of Voyager now wept to leave the open skies. But the adults were ready to leave. Their feet were itching to go back on the star-road, and go home. 

Home wasn't the Federation anymore. That was a dream for the future. Home was the ship and the people. And so, they returned to Voyager with bright toys and strong, healthy children and a hold full of gifts and of their own produce.

"That's right, Palanka. We're almost there, little one." B'Elanna carefully guided the blindfolded young man to his surprise.

"Want see!"

"Soon." A door whooshed open. "Here we are, Palanka. Take off the scarf."

He did, and his eyes grew wide with wonder. The room was filled with banks of seedlings - some in water, some in air and some in rich, dark soil. The lights were bright simulated sunlight. The cabinets were filled with supplies, carefully labeled with both words and pictures - and the pictures were very detailed instructions for a person who could not grasp letters at all. They also were coded so that he could ask the computer what to do. The closet had tools, all outlined so he would know just where to return them. Both cabinets and closet were closed by locked doors.

Palan walked around the room. The plants were labeled with words and pictures, but he didn't seem to need them. He carefully stroked a leaf here and a tiny bud there. He didn't even notice the other people in the room.

"Do you like it, my son?"

"Papa! Like it! Like plant room."

"Technically, my son, it is called an arboretum, but plant room will do. It's all yours."

"All Palanka's?" His eyes grew wider still.

"Yes. You will be in charge of all the food and flowers that come out of this room."

"Palanka's plant room."

"There are rules."

"Rules?"

"You can come here whenever you like, but you cannot touch any tools or chemicals unless there is an adult here with you. If you disobey this rule, you will not be allowed here at all. Do you understand?"

"Not touch when alone. Understand."

"Good. We will remind you."

"Palanka's plant room. Make flowers grow, make ship pretty."

"Yes. You will do a good job, my son."

Palan just smiled and stared at his plants.

The first night on the ship was a strange one. They had spent a year being something other than Starfleet/Maquis, they had lived in houses with rooms and windows and the scent of flowers and snow. Now they were back in not-so-familiar quarters, surrounded by familiar things.

In everyone's closet there hung a uniform that had not been touched in a year's time. Tomorrow they would be underway, and the old life would be waiting for them, just like the uniforms waiting to be put on.

Kathryn fingered the dark material, and the four golden pips gleaming on the collar of the undertunic. She'd worked hard for that uniform and those pips. She had been proud of who she was and what she served. She believed in it as much as she believed in quantum physics. Here in the Delta Quadrant, she'd thought of it as a lifeline to home, a reminder of where they truly belonged. 

She looked around her quarters. There were Jack's plants and his notes, here were Tommy's drawings and toys. Her paintings hung on the wall. Souvenirs from a hundred worlds cluttered the shelves. Her closet was filled with the bright, soft dresses she loved, the ones that made the utilitarian jumpsuit look so dull.

She'd long acknowledged that this was her home and this was her family. Now she thought about the uniform she'd treasured so much. As she did, there was a signal at her door.

"Come."

B'Elanna walked in, carrying her own uniform.

"I see you are having the same problem, Kathryn."

"Problem?"

"It doesn't fit anymore. I tried it on and it didn't fit."

"Replicate a new one."

B'Elanna smiled. "It doesn't fit because it isn't me. It hasn't been me for a couple of years now, but I wore it because it was habit. I've gotten out of that habit."

"So have I. B'Elanna, am I the captain of this ship?"

"Yes. Of course you are."

"No one has called me that in a year."

"It doesn't matter."

"Without the uniform..."

"Without the uniform, you are the captain. Not because of what you are wearing but because that's who you are. No one doubts you, no one would disobey you."

"What about Starfleet?"

"You're asking someone with a bar on her collar?" She grinned. "We haven't needed to be part of Starfleet in years and years. Maybe it's time to let the fiction die."

"Fiction? I have an oath..."

"We may never get back to the Alpha Quadrant, and we don't know what we will find when we do. I know why you started this way. It was the best way you knew to combine the two crews and keep us together. We don't need it any more. Look at me - I'm married to Harry. How many Voyager marriages have you presided over? And how many were between Starfleeters and Maquis?"

"I...don't know."

"Does it matter?"

Kathryn smiled. "No. No, it doesn't. We're a family. We have our jobs to do, and rank doesn't really matter."

"No. It's not even a pay scale."

"Pay scale? Have you been hanging out with Ferengi?"

"Perish the thought!"

Kathryn closed her eyes. Then she tapped her commbadge. "Bridge, this is Janeway."

"Yes, Kathryn? I mean, Captain."

"You mean Kathryn, Adame. I want a ship wide announcement. From now on, uniforms are strictly optional for all crew members. Just show some common sense. No frills or high heels in the Jeffries Tubes."

"You got it, Kathryn. Does that mean I can get out of this thing now?"

"You can wait until Chakotay takes it off of you, Damito."

"Kathryn!" 

The laughter floated over the bridge and in her quarters. Yes, it was the right decision. Tomorrow, a ship called simply Voyager would break orbit and the people aboard her would continue on their journey to the Federation - *in* their home.

copyright 1998 Debra Fran Baker and NightRoads Associates


End file.
